Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System, with a mean surface temperature of 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F) even though Mercury is closer to the Sun.

Venus is the Roman name for Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. The planet is so named because it is the brightest of the planets known to the ancients. It is the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon. Venus has been known since prehistoric times. It was popularly thought to be two separate bodies: Eosphorus as the morning star and Hesperus as the evening star.